Most people seem to not be surprised that a Jew could turn over other Jews, and had even more such stories to tell. But I choose to look at the humane side of things: never judge someone until I have walked in their shoes. #AnneFrank

We act AS IF we desire to connect. Our efforts draw OM, and we begin to feel that we are one system. In this system, the Creator gradually reveals Himself. And we discover that we are a living organism of the Creator. We are parts of the common soul that He fulfills.#Kabbalah

… we will discover that our state of mind is radically transformed. Fear and death threat can bring us to think in ways we did not imagine we are capable of, and evoke deeds that detached from context, we may call “cruel.”

We can virtue signal about higher morals, tout the importance of democracy, lyrically express our views of a better world, but once we ourselves experience such a radical situation and find ourselves pressured into fearing for our lives …

Even if the new information is correct, and it was indeed a Jewish woman who turned in #AnneFrank and her family, we must not judge people who are under such enormous pressure.

The immediate response in #socialmedia was critical and harsh. Most people seem to not be surprised that a Jew could turn over other Jews, and had even more such stories to tell. But I choose to look at the humane side of things: never judge someone until I’ve walked in their shoes

In the last few days, new knowledge of the identity of the person who betrayed Anne’s family to the Nazis has been revealed. A new book titled The Backyard of the Secret Annex alleges that a Dutch-Jewish collaborator Ans van Dijk reported their hiding place ….

“Who has made us #Jews different from all other people? Who has allowed us to suffer so terribly up until now? It is God who has made us as we are, but it will be God, too, who will raise us up again.” These were the words of #AnneFrank …
(Reuters)

There’s no sense in taming #emotions. All negative emotions must be balanced with positive ones and then you’ll feel comfortable.
When positive and negative emotions work toward an exalted goal, they form an ideal complement, necessitating one another and thus we come to #perfection.

The beginning and the end
Are set for the creation.
But who shall be the first
To make it to the meeting place?#poetry

The perceived world is our rational #knowledge.
The world governing us is above our perception.#Suffering forces us to enter into a new system of governance.
By entering it, we build it—and we call it the upper world, Creator.
This is the meaning of, “You make me.”#Kabbalah

Question: They say that when the body dies, the spirit leaves it. What is it that actually leaves the body?

Answer: In Kabbalah, the term “body” means desire. When the Light leaves this desire, it dies. In other words, it becomes a desire that is only seeking to receive. This is called a dead desire or dead body. In principle, the kind of death that you are talking about does not exist.

Question: Where are the uncorrected souls of people after death?

Answer: They always exist within the desire which acquired a similar quality to them.

After the death of the body, we begin to sense our larger spiritual, soulful state. Not because the body dies, but because a certain egoistic desire disappears.

Question: A person can die a natural death or be killed, drowned, or burned. Does the method of death impact his soul at the moment of death?

Answer: No, because he had no soul! Before a person has the desire for the upper world, he is only involved with advancement on the level of this world. That’s why it’s worthwhile to begin your spiritual advancement as quickly as possible.[226331]From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian, 1/14/18

Question: What are the three basic laws of the methodology of Kabbalah?

Answer: The first postulate is that there is a single upper force of nature, called “the Creator” or “Nature.” We ascribe no special properties to it other than it being one common force that includes absolutely everything existing in creation.

The second postulate is that the upper force created the inanimate, vegetative, animal, and human levels of nature, which are automatically controlled by the upper force without any possibility of freewill. In such a situation, a person is nature’s part that can consciously and independently react to its signals. “Human” in Hebrew is “Adam“ (from the word “Domeh” [“similar”]), which means “similar to the Creator.”

Similar to how the Creator has His freedom of action, there is an opportunity to act independently when a person rises above his nature and can act above his own nature.

The third postulate is that as a result of special actions and exercises, everyone can reach equivalence of form with the Creator in a way that we will have the freedom to act similarly to the Creator.[226802]From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 2/4/18

Question: Aside from the main goal, to attain the upper world, are there other higher goals related to an individual’s natural talents and qualities which should be pursued while they haven’t yet developed the desire for the search of the upper world?

Answer: And why should the individual distract himself with anything? In order to be a great musician? Let’s say, I start to practice a musical instrument for 12 to 14 hours a day in order to play beautifully. Is this the meaning of my life?!

What do I achieve by this? A huge egoistic fulfillment. They bow to me, respect me, I become known, I earn a lot of money, I walk out onto the stage, everyone rises, applauds!

Remark:Not only that. People listen to the music and become uplifted.

My Comment: Yes, people cry out with joy, this is beautiful, and then what? Ultimately, I and my listeners will still die, and with that, everything ends. Is this the meaning of life?

All are caught in such a “mousetrap.” But there are people, Kabbalists, with a tremendous desire to know the essence of existence. They say: “We will not accept anything less, we need to attain the Creator! The meaning of life, the attainment of the point from which everything arises, and nothing less.”

Question: And if we would take into account the scientists, who, for example, developed interventions that save lives. And humanity has been using them for centuries. Isn’t there meaning in this?

Answer: They are simply improving people’s animal existence. No meaning exists in our world, there is no need in digging for it! We see what we are and how everything ends. People are born, live, and die, and this continues for generations as long as the earth bears us. There is nothing else. So is it worth discussing the meaning of the existence of protein matter on this planet?!

Question: So does it turn out that the meaning of life is to learn its meaning? Kabbalists say that it lies in adhesion with the Creator.

Answer: Of course. In this life. In this world.

You must attain the Creator, reveal Him, know Him. In the meantime, you attain the state of eternity and perfection, without dying, without identifying yourself with the body, which is left as an absolutely unnecessary part, a used part of a rocket.

You are obligated to achieve this and experience it clearly and in an obvious way, like a child who puts everything in his mouth because only through taste can he identify what it is. That’s why this is called Taamei Torah, “tastes of Light.”[226144]From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 1/28/18

Question: How can you convince a person who categorically disagrees with you? Why don’t we feel the thoughts and feelings of other people through written messages? What is the algorithm of actions, thoughts, and desires?

Answer: If someone sends me something, he must very clearly imagine how I will consider his message in the way that is necessary for my egoistic existence.

Question: Does this mean that I always need to imagine the other and by imagining him, his way of thinking, to choose the words?

Answer: Yes. As far as by these words I am awakening the desire in him to adapt the message for his own benefit. That is, when I am sending the message, I need to imagine the interlocuter, his benefit, and adapt myself to him.

Question: How can you resolve a situation of conflict, when one agrees and the other does not? How do you resolve conflicts as a Kabbalist?

Answer: I do not resolve them. I embrace conflicts because eventually they advance me to the goal. I am grateful to all my opponents because thanks to them, I advance to the goal faster.

I do not need to satisfy or cajole them. No way! On the contrary, when they “poke” me that way, although it affects me very little, I am extremely grateful to them because then I begin to think: why, what for, how should I react correctly, why this was sent to me?

Everything a person experiences was sent to him by the Creator. All the puppets, dolls, that exist around me are just conductors of His message to me. Therefore, I appreciate them very much: for any message—good or bad. Moreover, I am happier with the bad since they leave a deeper impression in me, and in that way, I correct myself faster, more vigorously. There is nothing else in a person’s life and in the world but to connect everything that happens to him with the Creator. The fact that it seems to him that whatever happens comes from other people, from natural phenomena, or from anything else, is just a cover in which the Creator dresses until a person is ready for direct connection with Him.

Therefore, I look at life very positively. For me, a bad person can be more desirable than a good one. Any conflict is beneficial.

We always need to turn to the Creator who is behind both a person and the conflict and understand that whatever you do, feel, or decide is also the Creator, because He stands behind you too.[226584]From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 2/13/18

New Life #998 – Disputes Among The Jewish People
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

Summary

With every level of the still, vegetative, animate and speaking, the desire to receive becomes greater and the power of clarification becomes greater. Therefore, developed people find themselves in disputes. A person is even in dispute with himself. That is how they develop.

Disputes among the people of Israel are necessary for their spiritual development. The higher power that developed the Jewish people awakened opposing opinions between them so that they would learn to connect above them. The Jews will subsequently discover the truth, which is union above all differences based on the principle “love covers all transgressions.” An argument for the sake of heaven is an argument that moves us toward connection with the Creator and overcomes our egoistic justifications. The Jewish people do not eliminate disputes but learn to ascend to the heavens through them.[225597]From KabTV’s “New Life #998 – Disputes Among The Jewish People,” 4/17/18